War: The Next Pope!

JMJ

As I write this on December 23, 2023, I can't help by wonder what the next Pope (i.e. Vicar of Christ) will do in the aftermath left by Pope Francis (the First and hopefully the Last).

Pope Francis has placed another landmine on the path outwards of this Crisis of the Catholic Church. Simply put, it is the allowance of 'blessings' for Gay Couples. The list of other landmines is long and glorious but some highlights would be the dismantling of the hierarchy, removal of priests and bishops for being 'divisive', ambiguous documents that open the Catholic Church to the acceptance of sinful acts as practical doctrine,

Yes, Pope Francis (elected March 13, 2013) has left quite a mess and this mess is what the next Pope, if he is a great (not just good) Vicar of Christ will have to walk the Way of the Cross to undo the evil Gordian knot tied by Popes since Pius XII.

Each Pope has, by their decisions, added Bights, Crossings, Elbows, and loops to the knot that that one wonders to how untie it (Link: Knot Term).

After some reflection, here's what I would tell a newly elected Vicar of Christ if he asked me.

Don't start with the knot, start with the rope.

Declare the complete Catholic Dogma in the face of the central issues. This would include a list of the Dogmas, that Catholics need to believe in order to remain Catholic and not (knot?) fall into heresy.
This will create an uproar from the the world, the flesh and the Devil. That's why it will require Heroic Virtue to stand against so many to proclaim the Truths of the Catholic Church.
This one act will make clear the battle lines with the Church and in the World, cutting numerous lines of the knot making it easier to unravel large sections of it.
In short, provide clarity.

Go to the knot's core, fix the seminaries.

The seminaries are either the gardens or breeding grounds of the Catholic Church.
If they are aligned with Catholic Teaching (ie Dogmas, Doctrines, Principles etc) then they are gardens. Gardens provide nourishment for the strengthening of the Church.
If they are not aligned with Catholic Teaching, then they are the breeding ground for heresy and revolutionaries.
We've seen this already where 'Garden" seminaries result in a flourishing of the Faith. Examples are the seminaries of Traditional Congregations and conservative diocesan seminaries - such as Lincoln, Nebraska.

Note this does not mean the there won't be problems. The cultural pressures of the world cannot be under-estimated. Attrition affects the ordained priests of the SSPX. They go to the diocese, leave the priesthood etc and it is essential to realize that it isn't easy to be a priest in this world. It never really has been easy, it is just harder now.

Organize the Vatican around the Mission of the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church is a hierarchical organization and needs to be optimized for decision making, taking action and communication.
Prioritize the elimination of persecution of faithful Catholics by people within the Catholic Church. No matter where they are in the hierarchy of the Church.
De-prioritize the transitory world issues until the Catholic Church has righted itself.

My first thoughts - there would be more but this would be a major starting point.

P^3

Comments

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+ JMJ A reader asked the following question in the 2015 version of the article on the Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (link) : 117: "In the state of fallen nature it is morally impossible for man without Supernatural Revelation, to know easily, with absolute certainty and without admixture of error, all religious and moral truths of the natural order." Where can you find this in the documents of the Church? ( Link to comment ) Here's the reference from Ott: The citation that Ott provided was Denzinger 1786 and the source document is Dogmatic Consitution Concerning the Faith from the First Vatican Council (Papal Encyclicals - link) : Chapter 2 On Revelation, Article 3: It is indeed thanks to this divine revelation , that those matters concerning God, which are not of themselves beyond the scope of human reason, can, even in the present state of the human race, be known by everyone, without difficulty, with firm certitude and with no intermingling of error. Here's ...

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